Online Learning Opportunities for Educators

For this assignment, I listened to a broadcast on EdTechTalk. I thought it was a really great discussion that hit on many of the concerns I hold when it comes to embracing online social networking in the classroom.

This talk was a conversation between a couple of tech guys in education, one on the East coast the other on the West coast. They discussed many of the advances and applications of social networking in education. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr were all applications that came up during the discussion.

My biggest concern with posting items on social networking sites is that it is open information. I don't like the idea of Internet sites owning my images (you probably know this, but every time you post a picture on Facebook you are giving ownership of that photo to Facebook). Call me crazy, but especially since I became aware of the idea of mental property (check out Barbie v. Bratz) I have been extremely careful about what I post. I don't post any of my personal poetry and I don't do personal blogs anymore. Honestly, who would give a rip about my personal posts? Well, have any of you seen "David after dentist"? If you haven't check it out on YouTube, it's pretty funny. But it is also an example of a home video, posted with the intent to share with family and friends, that has gone viral and now has millions of hits.

During the conversation, the teacher from Portland talks about how a boy in one of his classes posted a video he created online for the class that was made in horror-film style where the boy mysteriously is hanged in the middle of an exam. Yeah it's a little edgy, but the boy posted it on YouTube. After awhile the boy looked at who was embedding his video and found that the video was posted to a site by an interest group that was into hanging sequences as well as homosexual promiscuity. The boy went to his teacher, the teacher to the administration, and all was handled very well. However, this exemplifies the great concern with posting information: anyone can access information on these kinds of sites. There are options where you can learn who is and where your information is being accessed, but I would rather be more preventive than that.

All that to say, I would use an extreme amount of caution before using sites like YouTube and Flickr or open access websites and blogs in the learning environment. I like the idea of using Facebook and/or Twitter. I was imagining what it would be like to send out Twitter messages to students and parents regarding assignments, due dates, reminders for events, educational and community resources, events, etc. Twitter and Facebook are examples of social networking sites that are largely private and easier to control.

However, I wouldn't through open access websites out the window altogether. The speakers made a great point in their discussion about how you can use these tools to promote your school/program, whatever it is. If you don't, somebody will. Parents might post information or thoughts on a blog or website, post videos of school events on YouTube, etc. Those are all fine and good, but the most optimal and useful avenue is to harness those tools and become proactive in promoting the image of your school/program. Go to where the people are to reach out, contact, connect, build awareness, establish and project an image. Be intentional and create a presence in these social networking sites. When people come across "unofficial channels" of information, they can reference it to the more holistic and knowledgeable official channels.

If you want to check out the talk I listened to, click here and select the first heading: "21st Century Learning #96: Social Media in Education with Richard Kassissieh"